Raised Toilet Seat Assembly

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a raised toilet seat assembly with improved coupling features. The raised toilet seat assembly includes an adapter plate configured to couple to a toilet, a shoe configured to couple to the adapter plate, and a raised toilet seat configured to couple to the shoe thereby forming a fully assembled raised toilet seat assembly. In some embodiments, the adapter plate comprises a plurality of passages configured to fit about fasteners when positioned over holes at a rear portion of the toilet, and a slot configured to receive a first portion of the shoe when coupled thereto.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to raised toilet seats, and inparticular, to a raised toilet seat assembly with improved couplingfeatures to the underlying standard toilet seat.

2. Description of Related Art

Certain people may experience difficulty in bending, sitting and/orstanding for various reasons. Often elderly people start to experiencesymptoms of arthritis or general muscle atrophy as they age. Youthfulpeople may have injuries, or side effects from surgery (e.g., hipsurgery) that make it difficult to sit and stand. For example, it may bedifficult for such persons to sit on, and/or stand up from, a toiletseat that is low to the ground.

Specialty products have been designed to assist people that havedifficulty sitting or standing. Such specialty products include railsmounted to the floor or the wall, and raised toilet seats, among otherthings. Raised toilet seats work by increasing the height of the toiletseat above the ground, and providing an inclined contour to the top ofthe raised toilet seat, making it easier for people to sit withoutextreme bending, and likewise making it easier for them to return to astanding position.

Current designs for raised toilet seats offer means for coupling theraised toilet seat to a conventional toilet. These coupling means canmake use of existing attachment methods for attaching the raised toiletseat to the rim of the toilet, but such means tend to be overly complex,making assembly/disassembly of the raised toilet seat a difficult andtedious endeavor. Other less-secure means for coupling tend to offer araised toilet seat that is unstable when coupled to the toilet, whichcan increase the risk of injury to a person using the raised toiletseat.

Furthermore, current methods of manufacturing raised toilet seatsinclude blow molding and rotational molding techniques, which can havecertain drawbacks, such as requiring much more material than is neededfor the manufacture of the parts themselves, difficulty achieving highlevels of production, and difficulty maintaining desired tolerancesacross products.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Accordingly, disclosed herein is a raised toilet seat assembly withimproved coupling features. The raised toilet seat assembly comprises anadapter plate configured to couple to an existing toilet, a shoeconfigured to couple to the adapter plate, and a raised toilet seatconfigured to couple to the shoe thereby forming a fully assembledraised toilet seat assembly.

In some embodiments, the adapter plate comprises a main body portion andend sections extending beyond the main body portion to define associatedpassages in the adapter plate for coupling to a toilet. When the adapterplate is oriented flat on a rear portion of the toilet between thetoilet bowl and the water tank, the passages of the adapter plate may bepositioned over holes on the rear portion of the toilet and may fitabout fasteners such that the fasteners pass through the passages andinto the holes in the rear portion of the toilet. In some embodiments,the adapter plate further comprises a slot configured to receive a firstportion of the shoe when the adapter plate is coupled to the toilet andoriented such that the slot is facing downward. The shoe may furthercomprise a second portion configured to couple with a rear portion ofthe raised toilet seat.

In some embodiments, the coupling between the adapter plate and shoe, aswell as between the shoe and the raised toilet seat, may include aninterference fit relation without the need for additional fasteningcomponents.

Through the improved coupling features of the raised toilet seatassembly disclosed herein, the adapter plate, the shoe and the raisedtoilet seat may be assembled with ease. Furthermore, the improvedcoupling features of the raised toilet seat allow each component of theassembly to be easily separated, or detached, from the other componentparts of the assembly, allowing for quick interchangeability which maybe useful for preparing the toilet for guests who do not require araised toilet seat. Notably, the raised toilet seat assembly of thepresent invention does not require additional fastening elements beyondthe adapter plate, the shoe and the raised toilet seat in order to fullyassemble the raised toilet seat assembly onto an existing toilet. Theembodiments disclosed herein provide improved convenience to a user as aconsequence.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the invention, which refersto the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Thesame reference numbers in different figures indicate similar oridentical items.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded, perspective view of an example toiletand raised toilet seat assembly, the raised toilet seat assemblycomprising an adapter plate, a shoe, and a raised toilet seat.

FIG. 2 illustrates a close-up perspective view of the adapter plate ofFIG. 1 in further detail, the adapter plate comprising a main bodyportion and end sections extending from the main body portion to definepassages for coupling to a conventional toilet, and further comprising aslot configured to receive a portion of the shoe of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A illustrates an exploded, perspective view of the example toiletand the adapter plate of FIG. 1, the adapter plate being configured tocouple to the toilet by receiving fasteners through the passages of theadapter plate;

FIG. 3B illustrates an exploded, perspective view of the example toiletand the adapter plate of FIG. 1 with the adapter plate in an alternativeorientation to that shown in FIG. 3A.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate the shoe of FIG. 1 in further detail, theshoe comprising a first portion configured to slide into the slot of theadapter plate for coupling the shoe to the adapter plate of FIG. 1, andfurther comprising a second portion configured to slide into a rearportion of the raised toilet seat of FIG. 1 for coupling the raisedtoilet seat to the shoe.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of the example toilet with theadapter plate of FIG. 1 coupled to the toilet, and the shoe of FIG. 1coupled to adapter plate.

FIG. 6 illustrates a side view of the raised toilet seat of FIG. 1 infurther detail, the raised toilet seat comprising a top portion with aninclined contour, a rear portion, and a bottom portion that is smallerthan the top portion to fit within a toilet bowl of the toilet in FIG.1.

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of the example toilet and raisedtoilet seat assembly of FIG. 1 when fully assembled.

FIG. 8 illustrates a side elevation view of the fully assembled exampletoilet and raised toilet seat assembly of FIG. 7, along with a close-upview of the adapter plate, the shoe and the rear portion of the raisedtoilet seat when fully assembled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a raised toilet seat assembly100 according to an example embodiment. The raised toilet seat assembly100 is shown from a perspective, exploded view and is intended for usewith a toilet 102, such as a conventional toilet. The raised toilet seatassembly 100 comprises an adapter plate 104 configured to removablycouple to the toilet 102 at a rear portion of the toilet 106, a shoe 108configured to removably couple to the adapter plate 104, and a raisedtoilet seat 110 configured to removably couple to the shoe 108 at a rearportion of the raised toilet seat 112. The toilet 102 may be anystandard toilet with fasteners to couple a standard lid to the toilet102, the fasteners including, but not limited to screws, bolts withcorresponding nuts, etc. The toilet 102 is shown and described herein inonly as much detail as necessary to understand the present invention.

In some embodiments, the shoe 108 engages the adapter plate 104 byslidably coupling with the adapter plate 104 via an interference fitrelation. The shoe 108 also engages with the raised toilet seat 110 byslidably coupling with the raised toilet seat 110 via an interferencefit relation. That is, portions of the shoe 108 may each be slidablycoupled to the adapter plate 104 and the raised toilet seat 110,respectively, in a manner of an interference fit relation whereby thecoupled components are securely coupled by the force of friction withoutthe need for additional fastening elements. This coupling allows forassembling/disassembling the raised toilet seat assembly 100 withgreater ease, allowing for each component part of the assembly to beeasily separated or detached from the other component parts of theassembly, and therefore enabling quick interchangeability which may beuseful for preparing the toilet for guests who do not require the raisedtoilet seat assembly 100. Although the illustrated examples herein showcoupling between the component parts of the raised toilet seat assembly100 via an interference fit relation, it is to be appreciated that othermeans of coupling the shoe 108 to the adapter plate 104 and/or to theraised toilet seat 110 will be apparent to a person having ordinaryskill in the art. Importantly, the raised toilet seat assembly 100 ofthe present invention does not require additional fastening elementsbeyond the component parts (i.e., the adapter plate 104, the shoe 108and the raised toilet seat 110) in order to fully assemble the raisedtoilet seat assembly 100 and attach it to the toilet 102.

It is to be appreciated that the specific dimensions, proportions,shapes and configurations of each of the adapter plate 104, the shoe 108and the raised toilet seat 110 are not specific to the presentinvention. For example, the raised toilet seat 110 may be shaped orcontoured in various ways to provide a suitably inclined top surface,and the raised toilet seat 110 may be of various sizes, or heights, fora particular toilet configurations such that the adapter plate 104 andthe shoe 108 may be of a suitable size to accommodate the coupling ofthe raised toilet seat 110 to the shoe 108 and to accommodate thecoupling of the adapter plate 104 to the toilet 102.

In some embodiments one or more of the adapter plate 104, the shoe 108and the raised toilet seat 110 may be made of plastic, such as moldedplastic, or any other suitable material known in the art. Specifically,acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), or a suitable polymer, such aspolyethylene, and the like, may be used in the manufacturing of thecomponent parts of the raised toilet seat assembly 100. Suitablematerials may be rigid or semi-rigid, waterproof, and/or resistant tochemicals, heat and stress. Additionally, the adapter plate 104, theshoe 108 and the raised toilet seat 110 are preferably separate unitsthat are operably interconnected.

In some embodiments, one or more of the adapter plate 104, the shoe 108and the raised toilet seat 110 may be manufactured using an injectionmolding technique, the process for which should be apparent to a personhaving ordinary skill in the art. By using an injection molding methodto manufacture the adapter plate 104, the shoe 108 and/or the raisedtoilet seat 110, minimal material is used for the manufacture of thecomponent parts, thereby preventing excess waste of material.Furthermore, injection molding techniques allow for easily forming theopen cavity, or recess, on the underside, rear portion of the raisedtoilet seat 112, as will be explained in more detail, below.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an adapter plate 104 according to an exampleembodiment is shown in further detail. As illustrated, the adapter plate104 comprises a predominantly flat, rectangular main body portion 202.The main body portion 202 includes a slot 204 configured to receive aportion of the shoe 108 shown in FIG. 1 when coupled thereto. The slot204 is shown in FIG. 2 as a recess, or cutout, of the main body portion202 and is shown in an open configuration. However, it is to beappreciated that the slot 204 may be an enclosed slot with openings onone or both ends of the main body portion 202 where the shoe 108 slidesinto the adapter plate 104.

The open configuration, shown in FIG. 2, allows for more flexibility intolerances between the adapter plate 104 and the shoe 108, and allowsfor multiple orientations of the adapter plate 104 when coupled with theother components of the raised toilet seat assembly 100 of FIG. 1.Furthermore, the width of the slot 204 is designed to establish aninterference fit relation with the shoe 108 when coupled thereto.Accordingly, the width of the respective portion of the shoe 108 that isto be received in the slot 204 of the adapter plate 104 may be slightlywider than the width of the slot 204 to establish the interference fitrelation between the adapter plate 104 and the shoe 108.

In some embodiments, the adapter plate 104 further comprises two endsections 206 a and 206 b extending outward from the main body portion202 and defining associated passages 208 a and 208 b, the passages 208a/b each configured to receive a screw, or similar fastener, typicallyfound on a conventional toilet, such as the toilet 102 of FIG. 1. Theconfiguration of the adapter plate 104 shown in FIG. 2 allows for theadapter plate 104 to be securely coupled to the toilet 102 via thefasteners, as further illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B.

Referring now to FIG. 3A, the adapter plate 104 may be positioned in aflat orientation at the rear portion of the toilet 106, and at a toiletseat attachment point, with the slot 204 facing downward toward theground, and with each passage 208 a and 208 b positioned over holes 302a and 302 b on the rear portion of the toilet 106. The rear portion ofthe toilet 106 includes the area of the toilet that connects the toiletbowl to the water tank of the toilet 102. Furthermore, as illustrated inFIG. 3A, the standard lid of the toilet may be removed permanently, oralternatively, the standard lid may replaced onto the toilet 102 aftercoupling the adapter plate 104 to the toilet 102 where it may remain ina lifted position in order to make room for the raised toilet seat 110.The adapter plate 104 may be oriented with the tips of the end sections206 a/b pointing toward the back (i.e., the water tank) of the toilet102 as shown in FIG. 3A, or toward the front of the toilet as shown inFIG. 3B. In either orientation, the passages 208 a/b are to bepositioned over the respective holes 302 a/b such that each passage 208a/b may receive, or otherwise fit about, a respective fastener 304 a and304 b, such as a screw. Accordingly, each of the fasteners 304 a/b maypass through the passages 208 a/b and into the holes 302 a/b where theymay be fastened to the toilet 102 in the conventional manner known to aperson having ordinary skill in the art. Alternatively, the adapterplate 104 may be coupled to the toilet 102 by simply sliding the adapterplate 104 between the standard toilet seat and the toilet bowl when thestandard toilet seat is in a raised position such that the passages 208a/b fit about the fasteners 304 a/b. In this way, the adapter plate 104may be securely coupled to the toilet 102 to ensure stability of theraised toilet seat assembly 100 when in use. The holes 302 a/b and thefasteners 304 a/b are typically found on a conventional toilet, and areintended for use in attaching a standard, hinged toilet seat thereto.

It is to be appreciated that the specific size and shape of the adapterplate 104 is not specific to the present invention, and it may thereforehave any suitable shape. For example, the adapter plate 104 may have ashape other than a predominantly rectangular shape, as shown in FIG. 2,such as, but not limited to, a triangular, circular, elliptical, oblongshape, etc. So long as the adapter plate 104 is configured to receive aportion of the shoe 108 to couple thereto, and is further configured tocouple to the toilet 102 in the manner described hereto, the adapterplate 104 may be of any suitable size and shape to enable thisfunctionality. Additionally, although the adapter plate 104 is shownwith two end sections 206 a/b and two passages 208 a/b, the adapterplate 104 may include a single end section and associated passage, or itmay include more than two passages and associated end sections.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, an shoe 108 according to an exampleembodiment is shown in further detail, with FIG. 4A showing aperspective view of the shoe 108, and FIG. 4B showing a side view of theshoe 108. As illustrated, the shoe 108 comprises a flange member 402, ora first portion, configured to slide into the slot 204 of the adapterplate 104. The flange member 402 is shown in FIG. 4A to have arectangular shape with a v-shaped cutout, but it is to be appreciatedthat the flange member 402 can be designed to have any suitable shape,such as rectangular, triangular, semi-circular, etc. The flange member402 is of a thickness such that it may be slid within the slot 204 ofthe adapter plate 104 when the adapter plate 104 is securely coupled tothe toilet 102, as will be described further with reference to FIG. 5.The flange member 402 further comprises a tapered end 404 (shown in FIG.4B) toward the end of the flange member 402. The tapered end 404facilitates the engagement of the flange member 402 when it is slid intothe slot 204 of the adapter plate 104 after the adapter plate 104 hasbeen securely coupled to the toilet 102.

The shoe 108 further comprises a main body member 406, or a secondportion, which is configured to slide into the rear portion of theraised toilet seat 112 (shown in FIG. 1) such that the shoe 108 acts asa connection point between the adapter plate 104 and the raised toiletseat 110. The main body member 406 is shown in FIG. 4A to have anarcuate curved side 408 which allows for a proper mating engagementbetween the shoe 108 and the rear portion of the raised toilet seat 112,the rear portion of the raised toilet seat 112 having the same, orsimilar, radius of curvature as that of the arcuate curved side 408.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the shoe 108 is shown to be coupled to theadapter plate 104. As illustrated in FIG. 5, after the adapter plate 104has been securely coupled to the toilet 102 (as described with referenceto FIGS. 3A and 3B), a space is provided between the rear portion of thetoilet 106 and the adapter plate 104 by virtue of the slot 204 of theadapter plate 104. Accordingly, the shoe 108 may be slid into the slot204 of the adapter plate 104 such that the flange member 402 of the shoe108 slides within the slot 204 and into the space between the adapterplate 104 and the rear portion of the toilet 106. In this manner, theshoe 108 is securely coupled to the adapter plate 104, but is alsodetachable from the adapter plate 104 by applying an opposing force toslide the flange member 402 out from within the slot 204 of the adapterplate 104. Although the coupling between the adapter plate 104 and theshoe 108 is described in example embodiments as being an interferencefit relation by sliding the flange member 402 within the slot 204, it isto be appreciated that other suitable coupling means comprising twocomplimentary components may be utilized without changing the basiccharacteristics of the system, such as, but not limited to, a tooth andgroove mechanism, dovetail coupling, snaps, a hook-and-loop mechanismsuch as Velcro®, etc., or any other detachable coupling known in theart.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a side view of the raised toilet seat 110 isillustrated. The raised toilet seat is configured to rest on the toiletbowl of toilet 102 and comprises a rear portion 112 configured toreceive the shoe 108 from the underside of the raised toilet seat 110,as will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. Theraised toilet seat 110 further comprises a top surface 602 which iscontoured such that it provides a slightly inclined surface where aportion of the top surface 602 near the rear portion 112 is raisedhigher than the remainder of the top surface 602. The raised toilet seat110 further comprises a bottom portion 604 that is smaller in diameterrelative to the remaining portion of the raised toilet seat 110 suchthat the bottom portion 604 is configured to fit within the toilet bowlof the toilet 102.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the raised toilet seat assembly 100 isillustrated in its fully assembled form. As illustrated in FIG. 7, theraised toilet seat 110 may be coupled to the shoe 108, the details ofwhich will be described in further detail with reference to FIG. 8. Theraised toilet seat 110 is easily detachable from the shoe 108 by liftingupward on the raised toilet seat 110. While in use, however, thecomponents of the raised toilet seat assembly 100 are securely coupledin fully assembled form and thereby provide a stable raised toilet seatassembly 100 for use by patrons.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the fully assembled raised toilet seat assembly100 of FIG. 7 is shown from a side elevation view along section line A-A(illustrated in FIG. 7). Section line A-A bisects the toilet 102 and theraised toilet seat assembly 100. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the adapterplate 104 is coupled to the toilet 102 for example by tightening thefasteners 304 a/b while the adapter plate 104 is positioned flat on therear portion of the toilet 106 with the slot 204 facing downward and thepassages 208 a/b positioned over the holes 302 a/b. The shoe 108 isshown to be coupled to the adapter plate 104 by sliding the flangemember 402 into the slot 204 and into the space between the adapterplate 104 and the rear portion of the toilet 106, as shown in the zoomedview of FIG. 8. Importantly, FIG. 8 illustrates how the shoe 108 iscoupled to the rear portion of the raised toilet seat 112 by sliding themain body member 406 of the shoe 108 within a cavity 802, or recess, inthe rear portion of the raised toilet seat 112 which is openlyconfigured and accessible from the underside of the raised toilet seat110. By virtue of the arcuate curved side 408 of the shoe 108 shown inFIG. 4A, the shoe 108 securely mates with the raised toilet seat 110since the rear portion of the raised toilet seat 112 has a curvature atleast similar to that of the arcuate curved side 408 of the shoe 108. Insome embodiments, the coupling between the shoe 108 and the raisedtoilet seat 110 is by interference fit relation.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art.Therefore, the present invention should be limited not by the specificdisclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A raised toilet seat assembly comprising: anadapter plate configured to couple to a toilet seat attachment point; ashoe comprising a first portion and a second portion, the first portionof the shoe configured to couple to the adapter plate; and a raisedtoilet seat having a forward portion and a rear portion, the raisedtoilet seat configured to couple to the second portion of the shoe atthe rear portion of the raised toilet seat.
 2. The raised toilet seatassembly of claim 1, wherein the adapter plate comprises a slotconfigured to receive the first portion of the shoe, and wherein theraised toilet seat further comprises a cavity configured to receive thesecond portion of the shoe.
 3. The raised toilet seat assembly of claim2, wherein the adapter plate further comprises a plurality of passages,each passage configured to fit about a fastener.
 4. The raised toiletseat assembly of claim 3, wherein the adapter plate further comprises aplurality of end sections extending outwardly from the adapter plate,each end section adjacent at least one passage of the plurality ofpassages.
 5. The raised toilet seat assembly of claim 2, wherein thesecond portion of the shoe comprises an arcuate side with a radius ofcurvature corresponding to a radius of curvature of a side of thecavity.
 6. The raised toilet seat assembly of claim 2, wherein the firstportion of the shoe is configured to slidably couple within the slot ofthe adapter plate, and wherein the second portion of the shoe isconfigured to slidably couple within the cavity of the raised toiletseat.
 7. The raised toilet seat assembly of claim 6, wherein thecoupling between the shoe and either of the adapter plate or the raisedtoilet seat is through an interference fit relation.
 8. The raisedtoilet seat assembly of claim 6, wherein the first portion of the shoecomprises a flange having a tapered end.
 9. The raised toilet seatassembly of claim 2, wherein the slot is an openly configured slot. 10.The raised toilet seat assembly of claim 9, wherein a width of the slotis smaller than a width of the first portion of the shoe.
 11. The raisedtoilet seat assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the adapterplate, the shoe or the raised toilet seat is manufactured using aninjection molding technique.
 12. A raised toilet seat assemblycomprising: a raised toilet seat configured to rest on a toilet bowl ofa toilet, the raised toilet seat comprising an upper surface having aninclined contour and a rear portion including a recess on an undersideof the rear portion; an adapter plate configured to couple to the toiletat a seat attachment point of the toilet; and a shoe comprising a firstportion and a second portion, the first portion of the shoe configuredto couple to the adapter plate via a sliding engagement between thefirst portion and the adapter plate, the second portion of the shoeconfigured to couple to the raised toilet seat via a sliding engagementbetween the second portion of the shoe and the recess on the undersideof the rear portion.
 13. The raised toilet seat assembly of claim 12,wherein the first portion of the shoe comprises a flange with a taperedend.
 14. The raised toilet seat assembly of claim 12, wherein the secondportion of the shoe comprises a curved side with a radius of curvatureappropriate for mating with a curved side of the recess.
 15. The raisedtoilet seat assembly of claim 12, wherein the adapter plate, the shoeand the raised toilet seat are made of plastic.
 16. The raised toiletseat assembly of claim 12, wherein at least one of the adapter plate,the shoe or the raised toilet seat is manufactured using an injectionmolding technique.
 17. The raised toilet seat assembly of claim 12,wherein the adapter plate comprises a slot configured to receive thefirst portion of the shoe via the sliding engagement.
 18. The raisedtoilet seat assembly of claim 17, wherein the coupling between the shoeand either of the adapter plate or the raised toilet seat is through aninterference fit relation.
 19. The raised toilet seat assembly of claim17, wherein the adapter plate further comprises a plurality of passages,each passage configured to receive a fastener.
 20. A raised toilet seatassembly comprising: means for providing a raised seating surfaceconfigured to rest on a toilet bowl of a toilet; an adapter means forcoupling to a toilet seat attachment point; and means for coupling theadapter means to the means for providing the raised seating surface.